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Topic: Flight Sim enthusiast parks cockpit from 707 in his garage for verisimilitude

I'm impressed by anyone who takes their hobby to such an extreme. But I have to wonder -- if you're spending $150k to build a flight simulator so real you cut the nose off a retired jetliner so you can park in your garage -- why not spend the $150k to actually learn to fly?

Even if you couldn't fly a jetliner, wouldn't actual flight in a smaller plane scratch an itch better than simulating a jetliner?

Ok, I was trying to figure out how that would work. Obviously turning your head to the left and right is problematical without a computer screen to your left or right.

You must have pretty good head control not to bop it around to your music. You _do_ rock out when flying, right? After all, what's the point of dropping cluster munitions, juking below the treeline, or catching the third wire on the Nimitz without inspiring music? (c'mon -- no rock falcon emoticon?)

I'm impressed by anyone who takes their hobby to such an extreme. But I have to wonder -- if you're spending $150k to build a flight simulator so real you cut the nose off a retired jetliner so you can park in your garage -- why not spend the $150k to actually learn to fly?

Even if you couldn't fly a jetliner, wouldn't actual flight in a smaller plane scratch an itch better than simulating a jetliner?

Seriously. My Private pilots license only cost $6733 and change.

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." -Stephen Roberts

“I’m not convinced that faith can move mountains, but I’ve seen what it can do to skyscrapers.” -William H. Gascoyne

Heh, yep. I got my license in the late 90's and didn't meet my wife till '04. I haven't piloted a plane since about 6 months before 9-11 happened, so it's a moot point. Too expensive (for me) to be just a hobby and I decided not to persue an aviation career.

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." -Stephen Roberts

“I’m not convinced that faith can move mountains, but I’ve seen what it can do to skyscrapers.” -William H. Gascoyne

Ok, I was trying to figure out how that would work. Obviously turning your head to the left and right is problematical without a computer screen to your left or right.

You must have pretty good head control not to bop it around to your music. You _do_ rock out when flying, right? After all, what's the point of dropping cluster munitions, juking below the treeline, or catching the third wire on the Nimitz without inspiring music? (c'mon -- no rock falcon emoticon?)

Not at all. The TrackIR knows when you are trying to keep your head still. That was a problem with the trackIR1... We are now at 5.

As for the head movement, your eyes never leave the screen. Each small movement brings a large movement on the screen. So by the time your even close to straining your eye balls to stay with your monitor you are facing the rear of the aircraft in game. Apart from this it is configurable. So in reality it is much less effort than looking around in RL.

The device is also a great incentive to sit up straight

Sail your ship as part of a fleet. Devs previously worked on: Darthmod, World of Warplanes, World of Tanks, RaceRoom, IL2-Sturmovik, Metro, STALKER and many other great games

I get that marriage could definitely be a factor in flight simming vs actually flying. Ubercat's experience suggest that perhaps flying at less than

Does having an ubercat that occasionally insists on putting him/herself between the big warm thing (human) and the computer screen affect track ir? I'm not seriously thinking of getting an trackir -- although I could sure use the posture help! -- but I do have the fog of war cat issue.

Ok, I was trying to figure out how that would work. Obviously turning your head to the left and right is problematical without a computer screen to your left or right.

You must have pretty good head control not to bop it around to your music. You _do_ rock out when flying, right? After all, what's the point of dropping cluster munitions, juking below the treeline, or catching the third wire on the Nimitz without inspiring music? (c'mon -- no rock falcon emoticon?)

Not at all. The TrackIR knows when you are trying to keep your head still. That was a problem with the trackIR1... We are now at 5.

As for the head movement, your eyes never leave the screen. Each small movement brings a large movement on the screen. So by the time your even close to straining your eye balls to stay with your monitor you are facing the rear of the aircraft in game. Apart from this it is configurable. So in reality it is much less effort than looking around in RL.

The device is also a great incentive to sit up straight

mmm...don't know what I'm doing wrong, but if I have it "sensitive" (so small RL head movement = large screen head movement) then I CANNOT keep my head still enough to press buttons - and if I don't have it sensitive, I'm "almost" turning my head 45 degrees in RL to get 90 degrees in game.

I've never found a happy medium with it. The zoom for me is problematic...and looking down. I've just never gotten on with it. I can use it, but it's almost useless for extremeties - looking down and left/right or zomming in and looking up/down

And as I said - I've never got it so it's stable enough so that when I'm looking down to the left and zooming in, I can actually press that button.

Have you tried using it in KA-50? Trying to hold a hover whilst you look around.

The ONLY thing I ever found it useful for was situational awareness - looking around. For actually pinpoint control, I just never worked it out. Shame - 'cos I've always wanted to use it the way people swear by it.